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In the war that the government and the rich are waging upon the poor and middle class, there is one group of people, persons with mental illness, who are easy targets of abuse.

Our economic system is becoming increasingly hostile toward those who can not buck up and get a full-time job. It is getting harder and harder for people who live on Social Security benefits and SSI to eke by.

Seniors are apparently being hit just as hard as people with disabilities. My father, in order to have medical insurance as well as to have enough to live on, worked at his job to within a year or so of his passing.

Many persons with mental illness in the past have tried to obtain a housing certificate in order to live with some level of comfort and independence. Yet, the corporate people who are in cahoots with the government have ruined this route through social engineering. HUD has experienced major cuts, and this may have forced many persons with mental disabilities to seek institutional-type housing. Energy, rents and the cost of food have skyrocketed while benefits under SSI have been cut.

According to government sponsored propaganda, our economy is in a recovery phase. Yet if you have a mental illness, your economy isn't recovering, and you are financially worse off than ever. Regardless of the nonsense we're seeing in the news, the economy isn't recovering.

Due to the advent of Google and other sources of background checking, as well as increasing social intolerance, it is disproportionately harder for a person with mental illness to get hired. There was a news story of a fast food restaurant in the South or perhaps the Midwest that adopted a requirement for a Bachelor's degree for applicants to be hired--for the very bottom positions. This is an example of how tough it has become for people at the bottom of the socioeconomic totem pole to better their situations.

Persons with mental illness are not usually prepared to join the work force and are often unemployable. Many persons with mental illness can not work competitively due to their medication, due to the initial problem, or due to being unaccustomed to the rigors of a job. The mental health treatment system has taught us to be docile, but also to become immobilized.

Without employment being a reasonable prospect, we are forced to live at the mercy of the government or of whomever else there is who can help. If the government cuts off the programs upon which we rely, we have little recourse. Persons who are quite capable of living independently and who can contribute to society through volunteer work are being forced into extremely uncomfortable and unsuitable living situations.

Those in charge of the social engineering would like to see persons with mental illness and homeless persons disappear off the face of the Earth. This is being accomplished through incarceration, institutionalization, and the creation of a society in which it is impossible for a disabled person to survive. * * *

My self-published books, including "Instructions for Dealing With Schizophrenia: a Self-Help Manual," and other titles, are available on Amazon. I have a blog at: bragenjack.blogspot.com